Today's workers don't want to feel disconnected and impassionate about their jobs. (Ramcreative/Adobe Stock)
Sometimes, we as professionals simply don't agree with another person in our work-life. The situation can be especially dicey when that disagreement occurs with a boss.
I got a lesson in negotiating differences of style and opinion with a supervisor early in my media career. It was years ago, at one of several newspapers where I worked before finding my way to insurance news. My editor at the time decided to pull me off of a cherished assignment. When I mentioned my concerns, her response left me baffled: "It's business," she said. "It's not personal."
I realize this was her way of suggesting that I shake off my disappointment, learn to establish healthy boundaries at work, and move on. But I've never really been able to make peace with her philosophy. I mean, if a worker gets laid off from a much-needed job, I doubt the individual will be soothed by hearing, "It's not personal!" In fact, the retort sounds downright callous when applied to this hypothetical.
I tend to think that any endeavor to which I devote time and energy, regardless of whether the task is at work or at home, becomes something worth caring about. That makes it personal.
It also occurs to me that a major catalyst for The Great Resignation, which was at first thought to be a pandemic phenomenon but now seems to be sticking around, is that workers don't want to feel disconnected and impassionate about their jobs. Regardless of the perks, when work leaves someone feeling dissatisfied and unfulfilled, it's a safe bet that employee will eventually leave for another opportunity.
One of the columnists in this month's issue of NU Property & Casualty magazine shares a unique take on how work and life sometimes collide in her essay about long-distance hiking. She imparts several of the professional and leadership insights she developed from outdoor adventuring away from the office.
This month's issue also spotlights three articles pegged to popular insurance-industry events. First, our cover story about the current state of the wholesale, excess and surplus market was timed to coincide with the Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association's Annual Marketplace happening Sept. 11-14. Each year, WSIA partners with NU Property & Casualty to produce news and information related to the event. Look for those articles throughout the month on PropertyCasualty360.com.
The September magazine also spotlights several issues that should be hot topics during ITC Las Vegas, the international insurtech conference that later in September brings together thousands of people and hundreds of companies from around the globe. In the first of these articles, an executive from one of the insurance industry's Customer Relationship Management software firms shares advice for selecting the perfect CRM. And in our second tech-themed feature, another software executive writes about the technologies that continue to reshape the insurance world.
I believe that all of the industry leaders who contributed to this issue of NU Property & Casualty feel connected to and passionate about their work in a way that causes their business and personal lives to coalesce.
The bottom line: Most everyone wants to do well in their jobs. They want to be able to see the fruits of their labor and be recognized for their hard work. This is part of what makes us human. Remembering that humanity could be especially helpful the next time you're faced with a workplace disagreement.
These opinions are the author's own.
Read additional columns by Elana Ashanti Jefferson:
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